Adrian Gonzalez, the target of the Red Sox since they lost out on signing free agent Mark Teixeira two years ago, is reportedly already in Boston after San Diego and Boston agreed to a trade early Saturday morning.
ESPN's Buster Olney, who was the first to report the trade, tweeted that the Red Sox flew Gonzalez into Boston "for the continuation of the process, to get this deal done." The deal remains pending a physical, which while normally is just a formality, Gonzalez underwent surgery on his shoulder (which will keep him from swinging a bat until March), so the team will want to be thorough. Additionally, the Red Sox must negotiate a contract extension with Gonzalez, who is entering the final year of his deal (he'll earn $6.2 million in 2011). Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman speculates an extension in the range of seven years and $165-170 million.
While it's still not official who Boston is sending to San Diego, Heyman reports that pitcher Casey Kelly is included, while Dan Hayes of the North County Times says in addition to Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and outfielder Reymond Fuentes (and seemingly confirmed by Peter Gammons), none of which are surprising.